Ultraviolet (UV) lithography systems have long been employed to manufacture integrated circuits (ICs). Generally speaking, a UV lithography system may include at least two main subsystems: a light source subsystem designed to generate the UV light (which may be of any suitable wavelength, including wavelengths that are in the deep UV or extreme UV regions) and a scanner subsystem designed to imprint a pattern onto the photoresist using the UV light generated by the light source subsystem. Other subsystems are also furnished with a typical UV lithography system. However, they are not relevant to the present invention and will not be discussed in details herein.
Generally speaking, the two UV lithography subsystems (i.e., light source subsystem and scanner subsystems) tend to be designed as separate subs stems to facilitate ease of manufacturing and assembly and maintenance. During system final assembly, these two subsystems are coupled together to enable the scanner subsystem to utilize the UV light generated by the light source subsystem for lithography purposes.
As UV lithography systems become more complicated, and lithography system physical footprint and other requirements become more stringent, manufacturers continually look for ways to improve system quality, system manufacturability and ease of assembly. In the prior art, the alignment and coupling of the light source subsystem and the scanner subsystem tends to be a manual process that requires manual alignment and manual coupling (using for example appropriate fastening tools and fasteners) be highly skilled technicians. Because manual alignment and manipulation is involved, space is typically engineered into the interface area to accommodate the hands of the assembling technician as well as to accommodate fastening tool access. The space allotment for manual access increases the system footprint and in some cases, complicates UV lithography system design, particularly as UV lithography systems become more complex. In other cases, such space allotment is not possible due to the presence of other hardware components in the vicinity.
Furthermore, the quality of the alignment and coupling, as well as the efficiency with which the coupling is accomplished, tends to vary according to the skill level of the technician. The interface is nevertheless critical because of the need for precise alignment of the light beam with the scanner mechanisms and the need to maintain a vacuum seal during operation. With human involvement in the coupling process, however, there tends to be variability with respect to the quality of the assembled lithography systems, which increases the possibility for system defect and complicates trouble shooting and maintenance.
In view of the foregoing, improved arrangements and methods for coupling a UV light source subsystem to a UV scanner of a UV lithography system is desired.